Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad on Tuesday slammed the official Twitter account of Mission Ambedkar, a forum to spread Ambedkarism internationally, after it made a disapproving remark on a tweet posted by NASA where an Indian American girl was seen sitting on a desk wearing a sweater sporting NASA logo and with Hindu god sculptures and posters in the background.
Prasad quoted the tweet posted by @MissionAmbedkar and shared a screenshot of a report published in TV9 Marathi, in which supporters of Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Ambedkar, were seen offering milk on a Shivalinga and praying for his recovery. He said Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar would be ashamed of the Twitter handle that was using his name and mocking the girl for wearing her religiosity on her sleeves and being an unabashed devotee.
Mocking her for wearing her heart on her sleeves & being a devotee.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) July 13, 2021
On the other hand supporters putting Milk on Shivalinga,praying for recovery of Prakash Ambedkar’s health,who is grandson of the great Dr. Ambedkar.
Babasaheb would have been ashamed of this handle using his name https://t.co/jhYrUWNmNp pic.twitter.com/OjSVg5mJgL
Prasad was responding to a comment made by @MissionAmbedkar, which quoted the NASA tweet and said: “After seeing this we said; Science ka naash kar diya NASA ne.”
However, the comment did not sit well with former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, who criticised the Twitter account for its Hinduphobic remark and bringing disgrace to Dr Ambedkar by using his name. Prasad has been one of the few celebrities who have not shied away from openly expressing their Hindu roots. He joined the platform on the 8th of April, 2021 and within a matter of three months, he has posted some interesting content on his Twitter page, affirming his Hindu credentials.
On International Yoga Day, Venkatesh Prasad demonstrated the Surya Namaskar for his followers, performed in deference to the Sun God. He had also wished people on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra on Sunday as well. Earlier last month, he also sang the Shri Rama Stuti and shared a video of the same on Twitter. He also translated the lyrics for the audience
Photo of NASA intern with Hindu Gods and Goddesses on her table triggers attack from Hinduphobic elements
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States of America created quite the flutter on social media recently after they shared photographs of individuals who had received an opportunity to pursue an internship and the space research agency.
While inviting applications for an internship, NASA shared the photograph of Pratima Roy, an Indian American, along with others and it is her image that has caused the flutter. The photograph showed Roy with Murthis of Hindu Goddesses on her table and the wall plastered with photographs of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
However, such overt expression of Hindu piety irked quite a few self-professed ‘intellectuals’ who were not happy with the devotion that Roy bears towards her Gods. Such ‘intellectuals’ resorted to questioning her ‘scientific temperament’, which one would assume is more than competent since she earned the opportunity to intern at NASA.
